10 Things I Learned in My 1st Year of Entrepreneurship

4 min read
May 12, 2015 1:12:16 PM

I’ve just recently reached the one-year mark (wow, that was FAST) of owning my very first business, an inbound marketing agency. I can honestly say that I’m VERY HAPPY with where Responsive Inbound Marketing is at today and, although – like all startups – we’ve experienced both good days and bad days, we continue to learn and improve.

 

I decided to write this post for a couple of different reasons. I want to show other entrepreneurs out there that they are not alone. I would find myself “Googling” different topics all the time for answers to questions that I had about what I was going through at that time. It’s comforting knowing that other businesses have had similar situations, and you can see how they went about handling them and maybe even use their advice. I also wanted to share my weaknesses to prove that we are all human and that we all make mistakes.

 

I’ve personally learned so much in this past year, so here are some highlights of what the first year of owning my own agency has taught me.

 

1. Networking isn’t as good as it sounds.

 

In the first 6 months after launching Responsive Inbound Marketing, I was networking like a hound. Some days I would go to a breakfast networking event, work all day, and then head to another networking event right after work. Because inbound marketing takes a little while to really get rolling, I felt like I needed to supplement that with networking. I was exhausting myself – and for what? While it is a great tactic and I LOVE meeting new people all the time, I found that nearly everyone at these events was trying to sell something. They didn’t care what you were there to sell; they just wanted you to buy their product or service.


I also wasn’t attracting my buyer persona – that special someone that needed our services at these events. Be picky with what networking events you attend.

 

2. Taxes are real.

 

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 snuck up pretty fast and went by pretty fast – along with a lot of my hard-earned money. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was: for every check I receive, put 25% of it away into a savings account so that when Uncle Sam comes to rob you of all your possessions (is that too harsh?), you’re not left scrounging.

 

3. Nothing in life is guaranteed.

 

I am an excitable person and I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes, especially when I am on a phone call with a prospect and they’re excited. In the beginning months of owning my agency, I thought that every single call I had would probably turn into a new client. Fast-forward a year later, and that clearly isn’t what happened. Being realistic will help you keep your head up.

 

4. Stop taking things personally.

 

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Keeping myself up at night over things that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t matter was a waste of a good night’s sleep.

 

5. Just say “no” to unfair rates.

 

When people try to hustle you down to a discounted price, don’t give them something that will “discount” all of your hard work. If they give you an awful number, just say no.

 

6. Don’t rush anything.

 

I really learned this in the beginning when I had just signed up a client and felt like I’d blacked out the whole thing because the process was so quick. It felt uncomfortable for me having a number of unanswered questions. I have learned that I need to slow down with the sales process and take a deep breath. ASK QUESTIONS even if they “seem stupid.”

 

7. You can’t do everything.

 

In January of 2015, 8 months after Responsive Inbound Marketing launched, I was able to hire my first full-time employee, and I am very grateful for that. I was not VC backed or funded; this was all on my own. I was a content writer, I was an accountant, I was a sales person, I was everything. I finally decided to hire an accountant and a content writer and had time to do what I was really good at – and that was sales.

 

8. Be as clear as you can be.

 

Clarity is key. When signing up a new client, make sure you go over everything with them so they know EVERYTHING from day one and there will be no if’s, and’s, or but’s.

 

9. Trust your gut.

 

This is probably the BIGGEST thing I’ve learned this year. If something doesn’t feel right, simply don’t do it. Sometimes the risk is not worth the reward (if there even is a reward). I built this business and it was tough, time-consuming, and challenging and I am not going to let it fail.

 

10. It’s a learning process.

 

And finally, everything that I do, every challenge I take on, every new operation that comes across my desk, is a learning process for me. I didn’t grow up just knowing this information or how to figure out one’s salary with their taxes. “Should I have summer Fridays? Will I lose money?” It’s okay to ask outsiders for input into these questions. I have exposed myself at times as weak, but now when I look back on it, it’s only making me stronger. Mistakes are okay; every single person makes them. It’s what you do AFTER you make that mistake that is the game changer!

 

Starting a business from scratch was the toughest task I have taken on in my life to date, but by far the best. Not a day goes by that I am not proud of my team that works hard to get things done, and to get it done to the best of their ability. Life has surely changed in this first year of entrepreneurship, and it has changed for the better by far.

 

We just recently became a HubSpot Gold Certified Agency Partner – and it is not because we do not know what we are doing!

Brandwise

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